Genesis 37:17
in Genesis 37“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
KJV
And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
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This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
4 notes on this verseNow Joseph found his brothers in Dothan, which means "desertion." And where is the person who deserts God but in desertion? No wonder if they deserted who did not hear him saying, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Therefore Joseph came to Dothan, "and they saw him coming from afar, before he drew near to them, and they raged that they might kill him." It is right that they were far off who were in desertion, and so they were raging, because Christ had not drawn near to them.
This site's exposition
a man found him wandering
on Genesis 37:15-17
The account stops to record a man who finds Joseph wandering in the field outside Shechem. The text leaves him nameless and gives him one line, that the brothers had moved on to Dothan. Joseph sets out after them and finds them there.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the man said, they are departed hence,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan--Hebrew, Dothaim, or "two wells," recently discovered in the modern "Dothan," situated a few hours' distance from Shechem.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָאִישׁ֙ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| נָסְע֣וּ | naseu | they have departed | H5265 → | 146 times |
| מִזֶּ֔ה | mizeh | from here | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ | shama'ti | I heard [them] | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֹֽמְרִ֔ים | ʾomerim | saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נֵלְכָ֖ה | nelekhah | let us go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| דֹּתָ֑יְנָה | dotayenah | Dothan towards | H1886 → | |
| וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| יוֹסֵף֙ | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| אַחַ֣ר | ʾachar | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֶחָ֔יו | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיִּמְצָאֵ֖ם | vaiyimtzaem | and he found them | H4672 → | 455 times |
| בְּדֹתָֽן׃ | bedotan | at Dothan | H1886 → |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הָאִישׁ֙the man
haishH376 →1663 times
נָסְע֣וּthey have departed
naseuH5265 →146 times
מִזֶּ֔הfrom here
mizehH2088 →1180 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙I heard [them]
shama'tiH8085 →1159 times
אֹֽמְרִ֔יםsaying
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
נֵלְכָ֖הlet us go
nelekhahH1980 →1546 times
דֹּתָ֑יְנָהDothan towards
dotayenahH1886 →
וַיֵּ֤לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
יוֹסֵף֙Joseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
אַחַ֣רafter
ʾacharH310 →715 times
אֶחָ֔יוbrothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
וַיִּמְצָאֵ֖םand he found them
vaiyimtzaemH4672 →455 times
בְּדֹתָֽן׃at Dothan
bedotanH1886 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 6:13So the king said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send men to capture him.” On receiving the report, “Elisha is in Dothan,”
it leads to
- John 11:47–53
Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.
- Jeremiah 36:26
Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD…
- Psalms 37:32–33
Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- Psalms 37:12–14
The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
- Acts 23:12–27
When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
- John 11:47–53
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On Joseph the Patriarch; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.